FEARS that babies would not be allowed into Twickenham for the Rugby League Challenge Cup Final and that youngsters under five years of age would be herded into a special sectioned-off area, have been allayed following inquiries by the Star.

We were alerted to the concerns by a worried reader who wrote to tell us that she had been informed of the ground restrictions after telephoning the stadium to ask about tickets for the big match on Saturday, April 28, Rugby League's showpiece event and very much regarded as a family occasion.

The mother-of-two, who asked to remain anonymous, told the Star: "Having telephoned Twickenham the day before general sale of the tickets, I was surprised and amazed to discover that my daughter of nine months would not be allowed to attend, allegedly for safety reasons, and that if I was to take my three-year-old daughter we would have to go into a small, sectioned-off area of the ground!"

And when we initially contacted theTwickenham ticket office to check on stadium policy, a spokesperson confirmed that children under-five would have to sit in designated areas of the stadium and babies would not be allowed admittance.

This raised the prospect of families being split up on the day and some disappointed youngsters whose parents had bought tickets for them not being able to attend.

However, when the St Helens Star contacted the Rugby Football League, they denied that any such policy would be in place. A spokesperson for the RFL said: "The RFL have hired the stadium for the Cup Final and this policy will NOT be in place. Anyone who has bought a ticket WILL be able to gain admittance".

Armed with this information, we contacted Twickenham again. This time a spokesperson told us: "The Rugby League have got their own rules in place for the Challenge Cup Final. This particular policy will not be in place because tickets have been sold on a price-only basis".